The Wedding Crasher
by LaPantouflarde
Summary: "I'm not that dumb. I'm only staying for the hors d'oeuvres, and then I'm out of here." "That's too bad." He says and he doesn't hide his disappointment. "I was hoping you would stay." Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT or its characters
1. Chapter 1

Emma Swan looks around the room full of strangers to make sure no one was watching her. Once she was sure, she discreetly puts five cookies – maybe more – inside her purse, and some bread rolls. She glides around the room carefully, making sure no one notices her but she fails because the next thing she knows, a man – a very handsome, rugged-looking man with beautiful brown eyes in a very nice suit who also smells really, _really_ nice – stands next to her… just stands there, and then reaches out and grabs a cookie out of her purse.

"Hey!" she whispers angrily. "That isn't yours!"

"Well," he smirks and then takes a big bite out of the cookie then swallows before he talks again. "Do you want it back?"

Emma simply huffs and glares at him. Who does he think he is?

"I thought so," he says as he finishes the rest of the cookie. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asks quietly, a hint of seriousness in his voice but his eyes are playful and light.

_Busted_, but he doesn't know that so she simply smiles at him while the wheels start to turn in her head. "I'm Emma, and I'm here to attend –" she panics for a bit, forgetting the names of the couple holding the reception, "– Regina and Robin's wedding reception."

The man hums in amusement. "Of course you are." He says as he narrows his eyes at her. "Lying will do you no good, _Emma_ – if that's even your name."

"I am not lying, thank you very much." She says and then adds "_Technically_." Under her breath.

"What's that?"

"Nothing." She smiles. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go. Good bye."

A hand grabs her left wrist before she could even walk away. She turns around to see the man looking at his hand as if he was surprised by his actions but he looks up at her with eyes of certainty. "Wait," he says.

"What?"

"Can I get you a drink?"

"Isn't it an open bar?" she chuckles.

"It is," He scrunches up his nose and laughs softly. "But that doesn't mean I can't get you one, right?"

She studies his face to see if he's serious. "I don't even know your name."

"Neal Cassidy." He then lets go of her wrist and grabs her hand. He pulls her towards the bar. "So, Emma." He says.

"What?"

"Are you going to tell me why you crashed the wedding?" she stiffens at the question and she tries to pull away but she remembers that he was still holding her hand. "Don't worry," he chuckles as he firms his grip on her. "You're not in trouble. I'm just curious… and amused."

She rolled her eyes at him and sighed. "I just thought it would be fun," she confesses. "I don't have a lot of friends so I don't get invited a lot to weddings and parties." _That's a lie_.

"Oh?" he looks at her and she knows that he knows she's lying.

"Alright," she gives in. "I was dared."

"Were you?" she nods. "I wonder how you're going to pull this off when there are assigned seats and place cards."

She smirks. "I'm not that dumb. I'm only staying for the hors d'oeuvres, and then I'm out of here."

"That's too bad." He says and he doesn't hide his disappointment. "I was hoping you would stay."

She looks at him with a disbelieving look. "You want me to stay?" she asks and he has the audacity to smile sheepishly. "You just said that there are assigned seats and place cards, how do you suppose I can pull off staying longer?"

"I have ways," he smiles and it makes Emma feel things and she's getting all giddy now. "So, are you going to stay?"

Before she could say no, they were greeted by the bride – she knows it's the bride because apart from the very stunning wedding dress, her smile says everything. "Neal!" the bride says as he lets go of her hand. She awkwardly stands beside Neal and he gives the bride a hug. "We've been looking everywhere for –" she stops when her eyes land on Emma. "Oh, hello!" she smiles but Emma can tell she's trying to remember her name. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before. You're Robin's guest, I presume?"

"I – uh…" she falters a bit because of nervousness but Neal interrupts her.

"No," he says and Emma wishes she didn't crash the wedding because now she's going to be humiliated in front of a lot of people _and_ this could potentially ruin the bride's amazing day. "She's mine." Emma doesn't want to give away the lie so she pretends that she _is_ Neal's guest and she simply smiles at him.

"Oh," the bride smiles. "Well, it's a pleasure having you here…"

"Emma," she says and holds out her hand. "Emma Swan."

The bride shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you, Emma. I'm Regina Mills – well, it's Locksley now," she chuckles. "Anyway," she then turns to Neal. "The groom is looking for the best man."

"Oh, is he?" he laughs.

"He told me to tell you that he is in 'the secret place', wherever that is." She says. "What are you idiots up to?"

"Nothing," Neal says it in a way that says otherwise. "I must go now if the groom needs me, then." Emma starts to panic because Neal will leave her alone with the bride – Regina – and their lie will be revealed. Neal grabs her hand and pulls her with him as he walks away.

"I'll see you two later!" Regina calls out and proceeds to greet the other guests.

"What was that about?" she whispers she trudges behind him. "Why did you tell her you knew me?"

"I _do_ know you." He says without looking at her – he just guides her through the sea of people. "Besides, I don't think it would be fair to her – and maybe you - if Regina finds out you crashed the party. She's a very nice person but she gets really scary when she gets mad."

"Well, thanks, I guess." She mumbles.

"You're welcome."

"But wait," she says. "Why didn't she find it suspicious? I'm pretty sure she would know if you're bringing someone to the wedding."

He stops and turns around. "I was supposed to bring my girlfriend but she's now an ex-girlfriend, so there's an empty seat beside me – well, it won't be empty now because you're staying." He says nonchalantly and turns back around to head to 'the secret place'.

"I am?"

"Well, I'm not saying you should but, uh, you really should."

She laughs. "Where are we going anyway? And why I am going with you?" she asks as she walks faster than usual so she can keep up with him.

"Robin, the groom, is going to surprise Regina with a song and I'm playing drums."

"You're in a band?"

"No, he needed someone to play the drums and it just so happens that I play them."

"So, like, a band?"

He laughs. "I suppose." He stops in front of a conference room and turns to face her. "Now, you wait here while I go talk to Robin." He points towards the door.

"No!" she exclaims.

"No?"

"No – I mean – no!" she says with wide eyes. "You can't leave me alone here. What if Regina sees me and asks me questions like how we met or where we met… maybe I should just go. It was so nice to meet you –"

"Emma." He stops her nervous rant. "I'll be really quick, alright? Just stay right here."

"Wait, what if Regina sees me? I won't know what to say!"

"Tell her…" he thinks for a moment and then smiles. "Tell her we met last week when we both grabbed for the same keychain or something. Make something up."

She looks at him like he's got two heads but he just winks and disappears behind the door. "Neal!" she whispers angrily.

She laughs at herself after a while because _what the hell was she doing_? She can leave if she wants to but why is she waiting for him to come out? She decides to leave but before she can, she hears a familiar voice. "Emma!"

She turns around and smiles. "Regina," she says nervously. "Funny bumping into you." _It's her wedding, Emma, of course you're going to bump into her_.

"Where's Neal?" she asks.

"He – uh – he went to talk to Robin." She points at the door behind her.

"_That's_ their 'secret place'?" she scoffs.

"Right?" she chuckles.

Just then, a bunch of ladies – most likely the bridesmaids – walk towards them. "Regina!" says one with a pixie cut. "They're telling us to go back to the table, come on."

"Hold on," Regina says. "I want you guys to meet Emma Swan, Neal's date."

"Go Neal!" one of the bridesmaids says – she has long brown hair with red streaks and really big brown eyes – "I told him he could do better than that Tamara girl."

The one with the pixie cute nudges her side and gives her a look then looks at Emma with a smile. "I'm Mary Margaret."

"She's the maid of honor," the one with the red streaks in her hair says. "And I'm Ruby." She then points at the blonde next to her, "And this is Kathryn."

"It's nice to meet you all," Emma smiles at them and she's very nervous because now there's more people to lie to and Neal isn't here and – "Ladies!" Neal's voice reaches her ears and she is relieved.

She turns around and sees a very handsome man – probably the groom, Robin – behind Neal. "There you both are," Regina says as she approaches Robin and gives him a quick peck on the lips. "They want us to go back to the table."

"Right," he says and then looks at Neal. "You ladies go on ahead, I'll be right behind you, yeah?"

"Alright," she smiles. "Come on, Emma. You can join us! There's an empty seat anyway!" she says excitedly.

"Uh –" Emma tries to think of an excuse not to go.

"Emma," Neal starts. "Emma will go… with you, yes." Then he looks at her. "I'll see you later."

"Wait, what? Neal –" she tries to argue with him but Ruby was now dragging her away from him. She gives Neal a nervous look and he just shrugs his shoulders and gives her a very – not really – convincing thumbs up.

She curses Neal Cassidy, she curses this damn, but very elegant and beautiful wedding, she curses even agreeing to do the dare, and she curses Neal Cassidy – again. She wants to slip away once Ruby lets go of her but then she's pushing her down a chair in between Mary Margaret and Kathryn while Regina sits beside Mary Margaret. Then the four of them of them keep asking her questions about Neal – how they met, where they met, when they met, all those kinds of questions and she's trying her best to keep her answers very simple.

"I wonder where they are," she hears Regina ask Mary Margaret and then the light dim. Neal, Robin, and a man she doesn't know come out and take their place – the man she doesn't know sits in front of the keyboard, Neal on the drums, and Robin stands in front of the microphone with a guitar.

Robin tests the microphone and he chuckles nervously. "Thank you, everyone, for joining us in celebrating the happiest day of our lives." He says and then looks at Regina with the biggest smile on his face. "Regina, darling, I love you."

The three men start playing Lady Antebellum's When You Got a Good Thing. As Robin sings, she looks at Regina to find her smiling and tears shining in her eyes. She doesn't know her but she felt so happy for these two people who obviously love each other very much. She looks at Neal – who was now looking at her – and she can't help but think that he looks very sexy playing the drums. She shakes her head to rid the thoughts because he's a stranger and they only just met but he's so handsome and he's looking at her intensely and she was supposed to leave when Ruby let go of her hand but now she can't move because despite what her head is saying, her heart is telling her to stay.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma and Neal are now sitting side by side watching Regina and Robin having their first dance as a married couple. "You should have seen Robin before we took dancing lessons." Neal whispers.

She laughs and then what he said sinks in. "Wait," she says as she looks at him with a pointed look. "You and Robin took dance lessons?"

"Well, Robin, Killian, and I did, yes, along with David, Mary Margaret's husband." He looks down as if he was ashamed but then he chuckles.

"Killian? The guy on the keyboard?"

"Mhmm." He nods. "We told Robin to sign up for classes and he wouldn't do it by himself so we went with him. It was an interesting couple of days to say the least."

"I bet." She laughs and then it fades away slowly as she watches him stand up and offers a hand to her. "What are you doing?"

"Why do you keep asking questions?" he quips. "Just take my hand and let's dance."

She looks taken aback for a moment but then he's smiling at her and _ugh_, the things it does to her. So she takes his hand and follows him to the dancefloor. He pulls her close and they both dance silently for a while. She hopes he doesn't notice how her heart is beating frantically every time his breath touches her cheek because – yes – they were _that_ close to each other. It takes her a while but she realizes that he's been staring at her.

"What are you looking at?"

"You. You look very beautiful." He sounds so sincere but, _oh no_, she's laughing – it's a hysterical kind of laugh – and now he's looking at her like she's crazy.

"Sorry." She says as she laughs again.

"What's so funny?"

"What you said was _so_ cheesy." She laughs. "It sounded like you were in a bad romantic comedy. Do you say that to all the girls you _try_ to flirt with?"

He looks offended at first, it makes Emma cringe inwardly because that was probably the worst thing she could say, but then he's pulling her a bit closer as the semi-fast paced music changes into a slow paced one. "Do you say that to all the guys who flirt with you?"

"You call _that_ flirting?"

He gave her a lopsided smile and shook his head. "I'm not bringing my A game, am I?"

"Nope. I don't think you are." She laughs.

"So," he raises a brow. "Emma Swan."

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing crashing a wedding?"

"I already told you," she sighs and rolls her eyes. "I was dared by my friend because he was bored out of his mind."

"He?" Maybe it's just her but Neal sure sounds like he's a bit jealous.

"My friend, August, is a he, yes."

"Are you two together?"

"What? No!" she scoffs. The thought of her dating August makes her skin crawl, not because it was appalling, but because it was just weird. She and August are like siblings, plus, August's dating someone else – or so he says – but anyway, she hasn't dated in a long time, not since Graham.

"That's good." He nods and smiles. "How would you like to have dinner with me?"

"Like a date?" she asks and he gives her a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, like a date."

"I don't even know you." She shakes your head. "For all I know you could be a thief or something."

"Well, why don't we change that?" he smirks. "My name's Neal Cassidy – but you know that already – I was born and raised in New York; I co-own a coffee shop just a few blocks from here, the Bean Stalk, with Robin; and I would really like to take you out to dinner tomorrow night."

"Oh, my God!" Emma says in a highly sarcastic voice. "It's like I've known you for years!" then proceeds to roll her eyes. "Nice try."

"Come on!" Neal smiles and then pulls her closer – if it was even possible – and he rubs his hand up and down her back, making her feel giddy and warm. "I feel like we have this connection, you know? And you're totally going to have a great time with me."

"Smug, are you?" she retorts. She smiles but deep down, she isn't really. She does like Neal – she likes him more than she really should – but she doesn't think she can handle whatever this was… is going to be. "I don't date." She says playfully but firmly.

"I'm not asking for a date, Emma Swan." He chuckles. "I'm asking for dinner."

She narrows her eyes at him. "But you just said it would be like a date."

"Ah, you're right." He nods. "I change my mind then. It won't be like a date, I promise."

What's the harm in going to dinner with a complete stranger, right? Well, she knows his name and what he does for a living and where he grew up – that doesn't make him a _complete _stranger… technically. This is crazy. Who knew crashing a wedding could put you in this kind of situation? She just met the guy and now he wants dinner? But he seems like a good guy and his eyes are now boring into hers and they're so close and she thinks she could easily lean in and kiss him – _wait, what_? She clears her throat and looks up at him nervously.

"Just dinner?" she asks him.

He smiles warmly at her and nods. "Just dinner."

"Okay." She breathes out and he smiles in triumph.

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews! You all are wonderful human beings! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Neal walks home very upset and heartbroken Saturday night. He waited for almost an hour and a half for Emma to show up but she never did. He remembers asking her to meet him at _Ostria_ around six and how her eyes lit up when he expressed how much he's looking forward to their 'dinner'. He thought about what he might have done wrong last night but he was so sure – well, kind of – that Emma was attracted to him as much as he was attracted to her. He thinks he's crazy for being upset over someone he just met last night but is he, though? He's never felt like this before – not with someone he just met. He was brought out of his thoughts when his phone rings.

"Hello?" he answers.

"_Neal?_" It was David, but he's not in the mood to talk at all.

"What's up?"

"_Are you busy?_"

"Not really, no." He sighs. "Why? Did you need anything?"

"_You sound upset. Everything alright?_"

"Yeah," he huffs. "Look, I don't really feel like talking so –"

"_Killian and I are in the Rabbit Hole. Do you want to join us for some drinks?_" he asks. Neal really didn't want to be around anyone right now but he _does_ need a drink right now so he says yes and tells him he'll be there in ten.

He enters the Rabbit Hole with a heavy heart, so yes, he definitely needs a drink right now. He scans the place for David and Killian and once he does, he hopes his sour mood will not ruin their night. He fakes a smile as he approaches them. "Hey guys." He greets.

"Neal!" both greet him back and he can't help but smile genuinely at how happy they were to see him – at least they didn't stand him up.

"Where's Emma?" David asks. "Killian mentioned you two were going out tonight."

He's about to tell them that she never showed up for their date but then he remembers that they think he and Emma have been dating for a while so he improvises. "She, uh, she has food poisoning."

"Poor thing," Killian says. "Well, tell her I hope she feels better."

"Sure thing." He smiles and then David laughs. "What are you laughing about?" he asks.

"I was about to ask you where Robin was," he chuckles. "Then I remembered the man's on his honeymoon."

Neal shakes his head as he laughs. "He and Regina have come a long way, haven't they?"

"Tell me about it," Killian says. "It seems like it was just yesterday when both were trying to rip each other's heads off."

"Speaking of," David offers Neal a seat and he nods a thanks at his direction. "Has anyone heard of Robin?"

"He e-mailed me this morning." Neal announces. "He says hi and that he's having a grand time in Hawaii."

"I bet he is." Killian smirks.

The three of them spend the night drinking – except for David, Mary Margaret will kill him and it won't do him any good at all. It's around one in the morning when David announces he's leaving, prompting Neal to decide to leave as well.

"Oh, come on!" Killian whines. "Don't leave me all alone in here." He slurs.

"You're coming with me, buddy." Neal chuckles. "You won't be able to go home by yourself." He then turns to David, "I'll see to it that he gets home safe."

"Alright," David nods. "I'll see you both later."

Neal helps Killian up and helps him out the bar. Killian's apartment is a bit far from here so he decides to get a cab and as he was waiting for one to show up, he can't help but notice the blonde woman a block from where he was from – how it reminds him of Emma, even the way she was standing, and the way she – he sucks in a breath when the woman suddenly turns around. It _was _Emma. Before he could even think about it, he yells out her name.

"Emma!" he's about to run to her but he remembers that Killian was leaning on him and he can't just leave him alone while he runs after her. He still calls after her, though. Emma looks for the voice and her eyes widens when her eyes land on his. She then turns to her friend and appears to tell her something and then she was walking away – fast. "Emma!" he yells again but she only turns around and glares at him and then she's walking away again. He hears Killian groan beside him and he wants to smack him in the head because he really wants to go after Emma but he can't just leave him to fend for himself.

"Why are you yelling?" Killian whines and it takes Neal everything in him not to strangle him. "Stop yelling."

"Well, it's not my fault you decide to drink the night away." He grumbles.

"Are we going home?" he asks. "Can you take me home?" he slurs and Neal rolls his eyes.

"I'm taking you to my place instead," he says as he steadies Killian beside him. "Your place is too far. You can take my couch."

"No!" he cries. "I want my bed."

"That's too bad." He says. "Come on." He urges Killian to walk but he's basically just dragging him. "My place is just a few blocks away. Don't make this harder on the both of us, Killian."

"I'm too tired to walk."

"It's just a few blocks, come on. We can walk slowly if you want."

Killian makes a noise and he takes that as a yes so he tries his best to accommodate his drunk friend.

Neal wakes up the next day feeling like crap. He remembers seeing Emma last night and how she glared at him, and how she looked angry at him – but _she_ stood him up, why would she be angry at him? He's never been so confused in his life. He puts it all back in his mind for now because _now_, he's going to make Killian pay for preventing him from running after Emma last night. He walks out of his room into the living room where Killian looks peaceful in his sleep – on _his_ couch.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" he says loudly and laughs when Killian jumps and groans.

"Why?" he moans.

"Because you kept me from running after Emma last night," he grumbles. "You had to choose last night to drink a lot, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Killian sits up and rubs his face as he yawns.

"Emma!" he almost yells but he tries to compose himself. "I saw her last night after she stood me up and I wanted to run after her but you just _had_ to be drunk!"

"Hold on," Killian says defensively. "What are you talking about? I thought she had food poisoning?"

"What?" he's confused. Food poisoning?

"You told us last night that she had food poisoning." He recalls. "What's going on, Neal? Is everything alright?"

"Oh, right." He berates himself for even forgetting about that. He fakes a smile and laughs nervously.

"Neal?"

"What?" he hopes Killian would just drop it. "Do you want coffee?" he asks, hoping to change the subject.

"What's going on with Emma? Are you guys fighting or something?"

"Uh, yeah." He lies. "Look, can we drop it?"

"You're lying." He declares. "I can tell when you're lying."

"Oh, really?"

"Well, except last night, I –" he clears his throat. "That's beside the point, Neal. What's going on?" he asks more firmly. "Are you in trouble?" he asks quietly.

"What? No!" he's regretting even trying to make Killian pay for last night. _Why, Neal? Why?_

"Then what is it?"

"You're not going to drop this, are you?" he asks dejectedly.

"Not until you tell me the truth." He says. "We've been friends since the third grade, Neal. You can tell me anything."

He hesitates but Killian looks determined and he knows he won't judge him for having these…crazy…feelings about a girl he just met. "I didn't meet Emma until last night." He confesses.

"Wait," he says confused. "What? What do you mean you just met her last night?"

Neal lets out a breath. "She crashed the wedding." He admits quietly and Killian looks too shocked so he continues. "I saw her across the room and I knew she wasn't a guest but I was just so… captivated by her… and I don't even know why I made her stay when she was leaving and I don't even know."

"You two looked like you really liked each other," Killian says. "What happened that made her run away from you last night?"

"That's it, Killian." He sighs. "I have no idea. I asked her to dinner and she said yes but she never showed up last night."

"I thought you saw her last night?" he asks.

"I did, but I was holding you up and I couldn't just leave you there." He says irritably. "She looked so angry."

"What did you do?"

"Weren't you listening?" he asks harshly. "I just asked her to dinner and it just… I don't know!"

Killian grimaces. "Okay, will you stop yelling?" he asks as he lies back down on the couch. "My head is killing me."

"Sorry," he says guiltily. "I'll just run down the street for some coffee, then, for your head?"

"That would be nice." He nods. "And Neal?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry… for last night. And your office."

"What – did you throw up in my office?"

"I thought it was the bathroom."

He groans. "Don't worry about it. I'll be back soon." He says as he puts his coat on. "Behave."

He normally goes to his own coffee shop for some coffee but he didn't feel like walking ten blocks and he really wanted coffee now. His thoughts suddenly went to Emma and how she's taking over his mind and life and everything else that he fails to notice that he's walking directly into someone. Luckily, he doesn't spill the drinks and says a quick sorry at the same time the other person does. He doesn't even look at her but the voice is familiar. He turns back around and sees a familiar blonde and his heart beats faster as he calls out to her. "Emma?"

She stops in her tracks and stiffens. He absentmindedly drops the drinks on the ground and walks towards her. "Emma." He can tell she was about to run away again but he quickly grabs her wrist softly, preventing her from walking away, and urges her to turn around to face him.

She turns and smiles at him, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Neal." She greets. "What's up?"

He scoffs and laughs humorlessly. "Are you serious?" he asks disbelievingly. "You stood me up and all you can say is 'what's up'?"

She looks taken aback and she's glaring at him. "_I_ stood _you_ up?" she sounds appalled. "Are you insane? I waited for you for hours last night and _you_ never showed up!"

Now he's more confused than he was this morning. "What are you talking about? I was there for hours waiting for _you_."

"No, you weren't!" she says and she pulls away from his grasp. "Leave me alone." And she walks away quickly, but Neal won't let her off this time so he goes after her.

**Author's Note: Thanks again for the reviews! I hope the rest of your day is cool beans. :P  
**


	4. Chapter 4

She thought she would never see him ever again, but he's standing in front of her now, hands grasping her wrist softly, telling her that it was _her_ who stood him up. "I stood _you _up? Are you insane? I waited for you for hours and _you_ never showed up!" she says heatedly. She can't believe he's accusing her for not showing up.

He looks genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?" he asks. "I was there waiting for hours for _you_."

"No, you weren't!" she says as she pulls away. "Leave me alone." She walks away as quickly as she can but Neal catches up to her and stands in front of her. "Get out of my way, Neal." She seethes.

"Can we please just talk?" he begs. "Look, I don't know what happened last night but I'm here now, Emma." She looks at him with a glare, trying to tell herself not to give in but she remembers how much fun she had when she was with him during the wedding, and how she felt on top of the world every time he would smile at her. "Please." He begs again.

She sighs heavily and nods. "Alright."

He smiles in relief and it does things to Emma and she can't help but smile as well. He gestures towards the coffee shop behind him and shrugs sheepishly. "You up for some coffee?"

She gives him a confused look. "Didn't you just get some…?" she trails off when she sees the cups of coffee he dropped on the ground. "I guess I could use a bit of caffeine." She shrugs. "You're buying, though."

He chuckles and smirks at her. "Of course."

* * *

They sit across from each other, drinking coffee and just reveling in the silence because neither one of them knew where to start. "So…"

"Were you really there?" Emma asks.

"I would never lie to you." He tells her and she believes him. "I was looking forward to seeing you again, believe me. I was pretty upset when you never showed up."

She smiles. "I don't get how we missed each other if we were both there." She wonders. "Maybe it was some kind of alien…magic…thing." She shrugs and he almost spits out his drink before he lets out a laugh.

"Are you drunk right now?" he teases her. "Be honest, I won't judge."

"Shut up." She laughs as well. "Seriously, I was so upset that I had to go get frozen yogurt from the store across the street." She snorts, "You owe me three bucks, dude."

"Wait," he has his brows furrowed. "What store?"

"I forgot the name but it was across from the restaurant," she shrugs as she takes a sip from her coffee. "Why?"

"There isn't a frozen yogurt place across from the restaurant." He says. "There was a Starbucks, though."

She gives him a pointed look, "What are you talking about?" His confused face morphed into a disbelieving one. He suddenly laughs loudly, causing almost everybody in the coffee shop to look at him. "What the hell is so funny?" she asks and tries to shush him.

"We both went to different places last night." He laughs.

"Neal. I told you I went to –"

"You went to the one on Fifth Street," he clarifies. "I was at the one on Court Street."

Her eyes widens at that. "Well, whose fault was that?"

"Probably the aliens," he jokes and she rolls her eyes. "But at least we know we didn't stand each other up."

"I guess so." She laughs. Just then, Neal's phone rings and he looks at her apologetically. "Go ahead." She gestures to his phone.

"Sorry, I'll be quick." He says before answering his phone. "Killian? What do you want?" he asks impatiently before his eyes widen, "Oh, shit. Sorry about that, I completely forgot about you." He says but he doesn't look sorry at all. "Right, I'll be there soon." Then he hangs up.

"Who was that?"

"Killian." He sighs. "I was supposed to bring him coffee for his hangover but I ran into you instead."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." he tells her. "I'd rather be spending time with you than babysit a thirty year old baby." He jokes.

"So I guess you have to go?" she tries to hide the disappointment in her tone but he catches on and gives her smug grin.

"Will you miss me if I do?" he winks and she can't help but blush. She still can't believe that she just met the man two nights ago yet she feels like she's known him longer. She cannot deny the connection they seem to have and the way his smile just warms her heart.

"Maybe." She grins.

"Why don't you come with me to the apartment?"

"And help you babysit a thirty year old baby?" she raises a brow. "No, thank you."

"I –" he starts but it looks like he's struggling to find the right words. "I kind of just want to stay here with you." He boldly admits.

"As much as I want the same thing, you have a friend to get back to." She shrugs, not realizing what she just admitted. "And I have errands to run anyway, so…"

"Would it be pathetic if I ask to see you again tomorrow?" he asks her as he leans in closer. She wishes that there wasn't a table between them keeping them apart – but also grateful because God knows what she would have done… She'd really like to kiss him right now.

"I don't know…" she says hesitantly and he frowns slightly. "We might have to do some sorcery to make sure we meet at the right place this time."

His face lights up and she laughs at her own joke. They exchange numbers before they walk out the coffee shop hand in hand. They walk the short distance between the shop and his apartment. She really didn't want to part ways with him but she had to meet Elsa and Belle in an hour.

"This is me." He says as he points towards the building. He pulls her close and squeezes her hand. "I'll call you tomorrow?"

She nods and for a moment all they do is stare at each other. She sees his eyes fall and gazes at her lips before she unconsciously does the same thing. She can feel him lean in closer. Was this crazy? Perhaps, but it felt right. So she closes the distance between them until her lips touches his. It wasn't heated, it was gentle and soft and she can't remember ever feeling the way she's feeling now. She felt as if everything was right and perfect. She pulls away with a smile before she bites her bottom lip.

"That was…" he wasn't able to finish what he was going to say because she kisses him once more. "I could get used to that, you know." He whispers when they part again.

"Oh, I bet you could." she whispers back as he presses his forehead against hers.

He gives her a peck on the lips and laughs softly. "I am so glad you crashed that wedding."

"I am, too." She replies before kissing him again.


End file.
